This invention relates to epoxy resin compositions. In one aspect, the invention relates to heat-curable epoxy compositions having enhanced processability and thermal latency, and very high cured tensile elongation at low cost.
Standard epoxy resins do not have high cured tensile elongation. Some specialty epoxy resins, such as those derived from dimer acid or poly(propyleneoxide) backbones, provide this property, but are relatively expensive. Epoxidized fatty acid esters, being low in cost, would be promising intermediates for making flexible cured resins. However, they have low reactivity with most standard epoxy cured agents, especially amines.